The Swiss Army Romance
by eyeshine
Summary: Rory's relationship with Logan is falling apart. She's struggling to hold on, but their paths seem to be going very different ways. Everything is made harder when she discovers Logan's connection to a man from her past. Trory
1. Hey Girl

Disclaimer - I don't own a thing you'd want, so don't sue me. :)

Note: Story title and chapter titles are from Dashboard Confessional.

Note2: Lorelei/Rory have made up, and Rory is living at home. Logan and Rory are still together.

The Swiss Army Romance

Chapter 1: Hey Girl

Rory was lounging aimlessly on her bed, resting her eyes complacently and listening to the music she was playing softly. Her rest was interrupted by her cell phone ringing, and she answered it, yawning a "hello" into the phone.

"Hey there. Wow, you aren't up yet? What happened to getting more done before 9 A.M. then a sane person does all day?" said Logan.

His sarcasm and quippy comments had been starting to annoy her. She no longer saw them as indearing, instead she knew they were just another front, another wall that he wouldn't let her break through. She sighed, "I'm up. What do you want?"

"Well aren't you sweet. I'm calling to tell you to clear your schedule. It's the Huntzberger Colorado Retreat this weekend, and we've got our own cabin."

She raised her eyebrows to herself and said, "Why do you sound exciting about spending the weekend with your family?"

"Well, of all the stupid events my parents can think of, this one isn't actually to bad. It's a bunch of my father's nearest and dearest and their families, schmoozing it up and bragging about who has gotten richer in the last year."

"Okay, I'm still missing the part where that sounds fun."

"I did mention that we have our own cabin, right? Come on. If we're going to be "serious" like you want to be, this is something you've got to do. Good? Good. Pack your bags, Ace."

Rory started to protest but she found herself talking to air.

-------------------------------------------

A few days later the limo driver was putting Rory's bag in the limo while she crossed her arms and glared.

Logan had went up a day early, without even telling her, and now she was forced to ride alone. Of course, he'd been sweet enough to provide a limo, but Rory felt like she was being forced into some trophy wife position. She missed the more light-hearted days with Logan. Ever since his father had became more serious about him taking on responsibility at the company, things had been different between them. She tried to chalk it up to his stress, but the more the space between them grew, the less she cared about what was causing it. "This is not working," she had said a few weeks earlier in protest.

He'd looked amazingly hurt, then kissed her and said, "we'll make it work."

The next day he sent several dozen roses to her house. Nothing ever changed, but she couldn't stop holding on to the idea that the love was there, they were just going through a rough period. Everything kept building up, but Rory had no idea to tell him she couldn't be this girl, especially when sometimes he made it fun for her to be.

The ride was lonely and boring, Rory found herself drinking several glasses of the complimentary wine and reading her book, wishing Logan was there to make the ride more interesting. She tried to talk with the chauffer, but he'd only smiled, nodded, and called her ma'am.

When the limo pulled up to the ski resort, Rory forgot her anger for a moment. The place was magical, with beautiful log cabins outlined in glistening snow. She just stopped and looked around at the place. "Wow," she said to herself.

"Wow is right," a voice responded, and Rory turned around quickly to see Logan grinning.

He grabbed her hand and led her towards their cabin. Rory was just amazed with the cabin as she was with the outside. It was two-stories, with it's own kitchen and huge windows looking out at the view.

"See, I told you it was amazing," Logan said proudly, noting the signs of awe in Rory's face.

"Yeah, this is amazing, but i'll tell you what isn't," Rory sighed, "riding alone on a long drive because your boyfriend left you alone."

Logan pulled her close to him and sighed, "Sorry, I just got so excited to come up here, I couldn't help myself." When that got no response he continued, "besides you had a book to read, right?"

"Right," Rory said, forcing it.

"Good," he said, kissing her, "because we wouldn't want you slacking off on your reading."

"No, we wouldn't want that," Rory said half-heartedly.

Logan kissed her firmly and smiled, "Okay, well, I'm going to go down to the main hall. Everybody's going to start getting here and I need to shake hands and all that nonsense. You can change and I'll see you at dinner in an hour?"

Rory thought about protesting, but it seemed futile. She knew that him being happy about doing something his parents wanted him to was only good. He was having to endure a lot as the next Huntzberger, so if it made him happy for once, she didn't want to ruin it. She kissed his cheek and smiled, "well, you better get to it!"

Logan ran off like a man with a purpose, and Rory just sighed and lay back on the bed. She would have loved spending a weekend away with Logan in a paradise like this, but she hated the idea of having to do it while also trying to please all his family and his family's friends.

At Logan's insistence, the Hutzberger's had, for the most part, accepted Rory as Logan's girlfriend, and had come to terms with the idea that they might someday be more than that. However, they made no effort to be welcoming or really include her. She felt like a fish out of water trying to maneuver these social events with them breathing down her neck. They saw every tiny mistake as proof that she oculdn't handle being the next Hutzberger wife, and to be honest, she didn't want to. She never wanted to settle for being some guy's trophy wife and function planner.

Logan was all for her having her own career, but the logistics just didn't work out. Every high society wife did all the right things. They attended different functions, supported different charities, and planned parties. Rory had no intention of becoming that girl, and it was becoming more and more clear to her that to be with Logan in the long-term, she almost had to be.

With a certain amount of apathy, she pulled out her nice outfits and debated on which to wear. She finally selected a modest but nice outfit that would hopefully help her blend into the scene. She primped for a long time, making sure that there was nothing about her the Huntzbergers or their friends could use against her.

Around the time she was done, Logan opened the door.

"You ready?" he said cheerfully, offering his arm to lead her to dinner.

"I suppose," she said, faking a smile. She didn't want to ruin this for him.

When they entered the "main hall", a tall cabin with huge glass windows that was the center of the campground Rory almost gasped. The place had been set up with fake snow all over, it was like a warm winter wonder-land. Logan smiled at her reaction and kissed her cheek. "I thought you'd like it."

They sat down at the center table. All the Huntzberger family was there.

"Logan, Rory," Mr. Huntzberger said with a certain stiffness that made Rory have to fight the urge to roll her eyes at him.

All around them, other tables were full of important and rich people, who were talking and gossiping.

Although the dinner was delicious, Rory had a hard time enjoying it. She found herself listening quietly to the conversation. Logan drew her into it now and then, but overall he seemed pretty wrapped up in talking of memories from previous Colorado Skiing Retreats. After dinner, the Huntzberger's all went their seperate ways to go talk to all their guests, leaving Rory alone at the table.

She sighed to herself and tried to fight back the urge to scream or cry. She thought about going back to the room, but didn't want to seem rude. She definitely didn't want to go up and talk to this crowd of people she barely knew.

She spun her wine around in the glass and frowned. The night was shaping up to be rather boring.

Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Well, well, well, I didn't expect to see you here."

Rory turned around quickly, and her suspicion was confirmed. Standing in front of her was Tristan DuGrey.


	2. The Brilliant Dance

The Swiss Army Romance

Chapter 2: The Brilliant Dance

A moment or shocked silence passed between them. Rory had to remind herself to keep her composure. There's something about a link to your past, a past you'd almost forgotten about, that reminds you of who you were, and how far you've come from that.

She forced an uncomfortable smile, "Tristan, hey," she said politely, "how are you?"

He grinned a little bit and sat down in an empty chair beside her. "You don't have to pretend this isn't even a little bit uncomfortable, Mary. You haven't seen me in years. It's okay to be shocked, that isn't breaking any society codes."

He read her well. She just smiled and looked down at her drink. "Oh, yes. Well, wow. What are you doing here?"

"I've been at this thing every year since I was born. The true question is, what are you doing here." Tristan said, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, actually, I'm dating Logan Huntzberger."

Tristan grinned, and the grin turned into a smirk.

"What?" she asked, getting aggravated. He knew how to push her buttons.

"I never saw you with a guy like him, that's all," he said, though he hadn't yet lost the smirk.

"Please tell me you're not going to go into this."

"Well, come on. If you were going to date him you might as well have dated me. I'm better looking, you know."

She rolled her eyes at him, though she couldn't argue that the two didn't have many similarities. She tried to remind herself why she had found Tristan so repulsive in high school, considering Logan wasn't really all that different, and she'd managed to fall for him... hard.

When she didn't answer him, Tristan decided to fill the uncomfortable silence. "Well... where is he, anyways? Why'd he leave you all alone in a room full of snobs?"

She sighed, "Good question. For some crazy reason, he's in love with this particular family event."

Tristan smiled knowingly, "Probably the same reason I let my parents drag me here this year. This place has the best memories. I looked forward to it as much as I did Christmas when I was younger."

"Wow," Rory said, slightly relieved that it wasn't just Logan.

"Still," he said, "I wouldn't leave a pretty girl like you all alone to go schmooze with my parents friends either." He motioned subtlety over at Logan, who was talking with a heavyset man in extravagant dress.

Rory rolled her eyes, "he's being prepped to take over the Hutzberger empire."

"Wait, didn't you want to be a journalist?" Tristan asked, already knowing the answer, "I guess Logan's dad got you a prissy little job at one of his papers?"

Rory sighed and looked at the table, "Well, actually, he didn't think much of my work."

Tristan raised his eyebrows, "He what? You have got to be kidding me. That man is such a pompous ass."

Rory smiled, "Well, I'm glad you think so too."

Tristan smiled back at her, glad to be enjoying a good conversation with Rory Gilmore, "Well, it's a pretty popular opinion. He's let a lot of really successful journalists go, Rory, he's lost his talent for seeing it in other people. He's too close-minded. If Logan doesn't change that when he takes over, the Hutzberger empire is going to fall apart."

"That shouldn't make me feel better," Rory sighed, "but somehow it does. Thank you."

Rory then sighed, "Wow, this may be the first pleasant conversation we've ever had."

"Not the first," he said deviously, "I remember an amazingly pleasant conversation on a certain piano bench."

"Tristan!" she said sharply, trying to get him to forget it.

"Well, it was pleasant, until you ran out crying, of course. I'm still kind of offended about that."

"Well, cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it," Rory said, but she was amused. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time, but she hated that it was with Tristan instead of Logan.

The two of them shared a carefree laugh, and then she sighed and smiled. "So, really, what have you been doing since you left for military school?"

He was just about to tell her when the two were interrupted.

"Wow, I really can't believe you had the nerve to show up here," Logan said, addressing Tristan, "and to hit on my girlfriend at that."

Tristan rolled his eyes and sighed, "I went to high school with Rory. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to catch up with her."

Logan put an arm protectively on Rory's chair, and then looked at her, "You went to school with this ass?"

Rory looked between the two, trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, yes, for a while. We were friends."

Tristan and Rory exchanged a look. They both knew this wasn't exactly the truth, but it was the only way to get him to lighten up.

Logan didn't look happy about the prospect of Rory and Tristan having any kind of past, so Tristan took this as the perfect moment to leave.

"I'm going to leave you two to... talk. I'll catch up with you later, Mary," he said.

When Tristan called her Mary, Logan flinched and stared him down as he walked away.

Logan and Rory couldn't see it, but Tristan's face had transformed into his signature smirk once he turned from them.

For a minute, neither of them said anything.

Finally Logan broke the silence, shaking his head and sighing, "Sorry about that. I just... don't like that guy."

Rory forced her face into an uncomfortable smile, "No, really? I thought you guys were the best of friends."

Logan looked down at her, his expression serious, "see, that's the thing. We used to be."

Rory was about to ask for the story, but Logan said, "Why don't we go back to the cabin? The party is starting to thin out anyways."

Rory nodded and followed him, taking his hand. However, she couldn't help but steal one glance over her shoulder at Tristan who was watching them with an eerie intensity.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Logan and Rory reached their cabin, the couple immediately reclined on the couch.

Logan put his arm around her and Rory leaned her head into his shoulder, and he filled her in on his rift with Tristan.

"When we were kids, our parents brought us to a lot of the same functions. So, of course, we had this friendship. This particular event was one of the big ones. But, two years ago, I brought my girlfriend, Naomi."

"Oh, no," Rory said, starting to get an idea of what happened.

"Oh yes," Logan said, almost bitterly. "She's no you, obviously, but before I knew you, I really thought she was the one. My parents adored her. They were practically making wedding plans from the day we started dating. So, I introduce her to my friends here, and she particularly hits it off with Tristan. He was always hitting on her, but I didn't think anything of it, because that was just Tristan. But, by the end of the trip, Naomi was distant, and I didn't know why. Three months later, she dumped me. She was pregnant, and it wasn't mine."

"Oh my God," Rory said, "you poor thing!"

"I know," Logan said, making a pitiful face, "I mean, I have to give her credit for at least telling me. She got rid of it, so she could have just kept lying to me."

Rory rubbed Logan's shoulder and kissed him, "I'm sorry."

"Want to make me feel better?" he asked teasingly. and kissed her.

She just laughed, and Logan picked her up and carried her to the bed.


	3. If You Can't Leave It Be

The Swiss Army Romance

Chapter 2: If You Can't Leave It Be, Might As Well Make It Bleed

Across the campground, Tristan Dugrey was sitting awake in the dark in his lonely cabin. He slowly took a drink of his drink, looking up at the ceiling. He anticipated the drink's effects anxiously. He needed to escape this for a moment. He was aware that he was bitter, but he wasn't quite sure why.

His history with Logan was complicated, and it had just become even more messy. He hadn't ever expected to see Rory again. Seeing her was hard. She didn't have an idea that she'd become his world for a while there. She didn't have an idea that at one point, she was his image of a perfect girl. She definitely didn't have an idea that at one time, he had considered her the love of his life.

Of course, all his thoughts of Rory hadn't prevented him from being with other girls, but it had made him see them as lesser. He compared every new conquest to Rory, the girl he could never conquer. He dated girls that were smart, quirky, and dark-haired like she was, but

Maybe what hurt most was that his way of getting over Rory had fallen apart in front of him. For years he'd simply told himself, "She'd never go for a guy like me," until now. Until he'd realized she was dating a guy that might as well have been him. A guy who came from money, with slight arrogance, with a player background.

He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help but think that it should have been him. Even if he didn't fully deserve her, he wanted to believe that if they'd happened, he wouldn't have messed it up. He would have been there for her.

Finding a burst of energy, Tristan sat down his drink and grabbed his pack of cigarettes. He'd enjoy one on the porch, looking at the scenery, and then maybe he'd be able to sleep, he reasoned.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rory was also sitting up in bed. Beside her, Logan was dozing.

She sighed and leaned her head against the headboard. She felt bad for Logan and the Naomi situation. She wanted to believe Tristan was a better guy than that, but history proved otherwise. Even though it was a long time ago, Logan obviously wasn't over it. She wanted to catch up with Tristan. Even though they weren't best friends back in that day, she'd always felt a certain connection to him. She had sometimes wondered if something would have happened between them if he hadn't left.

She tried to go to sleep, but she just couldn't do it.

She cast a look over Logan, who was sound asleep, and got up. She decided that maybe a walk would help her clear her mind. Plus, it was snowing outside. She'd gotten a love for snow from Lorelei, and taking a walk alone at night with snow falling sounded to majestical to pass up. She buttoned up her black pea coat, took one last look at Logan, and slipped out the door.

The place was even more beautiful at night. The stars reflected on the snow, causing a beautiful effect of just enough light to see. Rory buried her hands in her pockets and began to casually walk around.

She didn't go to near to the cabins, afraid of waking or scaring somebody. Instead she walked the paths around the middle grounds, thinking to herself about how her life had come to this point.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

He was startled when he saw her. His cabin, since it was a single-person one, was in a row right near the middle grounds. In a odd way, she seemed like an angel in the snow like that. He smiled at the sight.

She didn't come near enough that she could have heard him call to her, so, after a moment of hesitation, he walked up to her himself. This might be the only chance they could talk without Logan on her arm, trying to keep them from speaking.

----------------------

She was shocked when she saw him coming towards her.

"Hey," he said, in a whisper. He wasn't shy, he looked directly into her eyes.

"Hey," she said, her face forming an uncertain frown.

"So, that was an interesting dinner," he said, looking to the side, a smile coming to his face.

She snapped, "Why didn't you tell me that you guys hated each other?"

"We were having a nice conversation. I thought I'd drop that bomb after we'd had a chance to get through pleasantries." He said, sighing.

"You really had a lot of nerve coming here." She said, folding her arms. She felt protective of Logan, even when he was failing her.

"I was invited," he said simply.

"But why would you come after what happened?"

"He told you about that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. He was surprised. He thought he must've undestimated Logan. It would take a big person to be able to tell that to his girlfriend.

"Yeah," she said.

"Wow," Tristan said, scratching his head. Maybe that was why she was out wandering by herself. He wouldn't want to be sleeping in the same room with a guy like that either.

A moment passed between them, and they both came to the realization that they weren't on the same track.

"What exactly did he tell you?" Tristan asked, raising his eyebrows. "Because the true story shouldn't have you giving be death glares."

"He wouldn't lie to me," Rory said automatically, though she instantly began to doubt herself after she said it.

"He has more reason to try to keep you in his good graces than I do." Tristan said wisely.

She realized this was true, and informed him.

Tristan just shook his head. "That unbelievable prick."

Rory looked into his eyes, trying to discern if he was lying to her. "What?"

"Listen, this isn't exactly the type of story you tell out in the open. How about you come back to my cabin, i'll brew up some coffee and share."

At first she thought that she should resist. She hadn't meant for this to happen, but if Logan was to find out, he would be very mad, and she wouldn't even be able to blame him. Her sneaking off to see another guy wouldn't look good in the best of situations, and this was definately far from that.

Rory nodded reluctantly and followed him.

He turned around and smiled at her, "by the way, don't even think of propositioning me. It would be wrong."

He winked, she groaned, and they walked back to his cabin.

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End file.
